Man charged in 16 robberies

A Schererville, Ind. man has been charged with robbing 16 payday loan stores.The crimes happened in the Chicago suburbs and Northwest Indiana between April and July.

Lewis Gilbert III is charged with robbery. Police have surveillance pictures, which were taken during one of the holdups. Police said Gilbert admitted to the crimes, used disguises and put a great deal of planning into the robberies.

"Everything was pretty well rehearsed, he used pretty much the same lines, he told the victims the same thing, lay on the floor for five minutes in almost every robbery," said detective Dan Koepke.

Police said a break in the case came when they examined a surveillance photo that showed an I-Pass transponder, which they were able to trace to Gilbert.